Attitude. Some people have it, others don’t. Some have a great attitude and others have an attitude in the ditch. In fact we have it all the time and the attitude we live our daily lives with often dictates our success or failures. You can suck up the inconveniences and push on, or you can let them get to you and whine instead of moving on.

It wasn’t until I started training for my first triathlon that I realized my attitude sucked. Sure there was a lot of pain, sweating, and stinky gym workouts, but those were merely there to separate the men from the boys. I realized this and quickly changed my attitude and used the pain and suffering as motivation to keep going.

Still, it wasn’t until I started my first triathlon that I realized that my attitude really needed adjusting. Competition was nothing like practice. The clock was ticking, it was everyman/woman for themselves, the water cold, the transition area huge, and the run hard. It all took me by surprise.

Sure I could have thrown in the towel and let the crowd get to me, the crappy transition area, and the competitive spirit. But instead, I thought about the step I was taking and the next step just ahead of it. I was going to get this done. I wasn’t going to stop, I knew my attitude had to be tough, spirits high and life was good.

On the other hand, the poor attitude racers were plucked from the ocean as quiters. The poor attitude cyclists wimped and whined their way back to transition only to whimp and whine through the run.

Clearly they had forgotten that they were in a triathlon, one of the most challenging and best sports on the planet. They should be enjoying the challenge, focusing one the moment, their athletic ability and the fact that were going to finish.
What would you prefer, crossing the finish line giving it your all or crossing the finish line whining about the weather?